Lisbon to Marrakech

April 19 Lisbon to Marrakech. 

This morning we depart on a half day tour of Lisbon. Lisbon is an enticing tangle of past and present -- funky and old-fashioned, unpretentious and quirky, restored and revitalized, booming with new confidence. With cultural diversity combined with a laid-back ambiance and an architectural time-warp, this is one of Europe's most enjoyable cities. We are picked up for a driving tour of the city sites as our plane is to leave early afternoon.

Old town Lisbon

Our tour takes us along the banks of the River Tagus and the Belem Tower guarding the mouth of the river. We see Jeronimo's Monastery which contains the tomb of Vasco da Gama. We continue on to see Alcantara, Praca do Comercio, and the House of Pointed Stones. We also drive along the Avenida da Liberdade, a fashionable tree-lined street through the center of town. We drive through the oldest quarter Alfama, Baixa, Rossio, and Restauradores. After our tour we drive to the airport for our flight to Marrakech in Morocco which unfortunately is late and further delayed by a thunderstorm.

Riad Daria

On arrival in Marrakech, we are get taken to accommodation the Riad Daria, which is restored according to the ancestral traditions of Marrakech. It presents an architecture and a decoration of old Marrakech. A riad is traditional house in Morocco characterized by an inner courtyard or a garden as the central element of the building. The name comes from the Arab word ryad garden. Given we get here late, we can have our dinner in the riad. A wonderful but simple salad, chicken and vegetables, and a flan type desert. We settle into a peaceful night.

Courtyard

Leiria to Lisbon

Thursday April 18 Leiria to Lisbon. 

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima

Our first stop is  where we visit the Basilica and the Chapel of Apparitions that marks the spot where the three shepherd children had visions of the Virgin Mary in 1917 CE. Fatima has been one of the biggest Catholic shrines in the world since 1937 CE, when it is believed the Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children as they were tending their family's sheep. They had the same vision on the 13th of every month from May to October of that year. We then visit the village where the children lived to see their homes.

Nazare

Then to Nazare, the most famous fishing town in Portugal. Among the brightly colored rowing-boats moored on the beach bathed by the Atlantic Ocean a superb view from the "Sitio", where we seewomen still wearing the traditional seven-skirted costumes. We then drive to Obidos, a medieval walled town of narrow streets known for its typical white houses with blue trim, flowered windows and steps paved with beautiful stone. We pass through the 18th century entry arch covered in glazed tiles (azulejos). Small bright white house’s line the narrow cobblestone streets, flower pots on window-sills, Gothic and Renaissance churches.

Obidos

We continue to Lisbon and we check Hotel Portugal a trendy hotel in the heart of the city. After being in the country for a number of days it seems a bit intense. After walking around and being a bit confused about restaurants we settle on a lovely local place that has people waiting when we are finished. We have a glass of wine at the rooftop bar in the sister hotel to ours and head off to bed.

Hotel Portugal

Lamego to Leiria.

Wednesday April 17

Lamego to Leiria. Today we leave the Douro valley and begin our two day journey to Lisbon. Our first stop Bussaco Forest and on the way it starts raining. The forest was a part of a carmelite nunnery and was demolished to build the Bussaco Palace between 1888 and 1907. The palace, commissioned by King Charles I of Portugal as a royal retreat, embodies the contemporaneous architectural fashion known as castle romanticism. It is now a hotel.

 Bussaco Palace Hotel

We are then off to the university town of Coimbra, known for its twisting streets and terraced
houses. We visit the 12th century CE Se Velho Cathedral, and the 13th-century CE Coimbra
University with its magnificent library, Manueline doors and chapel. We also visit the charming
and elegant 16th century CE Museu Nacional Machado de Castro, formerly the Bishop's palace
and now the depository of some of Portugal's finest sculpture. The sense of history both at the university and in the items from the 17th century in the museum is incredible.

The Johannine Library at Coimbra University

We are then off to the city of Leiria for an overnight in the Eurosol a tourist hotel in a city of 125,000. We wander around trying to find a restaurant and happen upon a small family pizzeria. We have a wonderful pizza dinner with salad served by a delightful waitress. Back at the hotel we encounter a very loud German tour group, seems like they are following us.

Porto to Lamego

Tuesday April 16. Porto to Lamego. 

Today is the end of our cruise and the beginning of our private tour through Portugal. We meet our driver guide George right on time and it’s off to see the Douro from a different perspective. George asks what we have seen and quickly adjust the events to minimize seeing things twice. We go the Amarante a charming medieval town on the Tamega River. The bridge front of the Church São Gonçalo is amazing and there has been a crossing at this very location since the Romans, but the current design is from a Baroque and Neoclassical rebuild at the end of the 18th century.

Amarante 

After our walk around the town we head to Lamega to revisit the Shrine of Our Lady of Remedies without the many people that were there on the weekend. We see many more aspects of the church and area. We then visit the museum of Douro in Regua which focuses on the history of the river valley and the making of port wine. We have a nice lunch in the museum restaurant followed a glass of port.

Shrine of Our Lady of Remedies 

We are then off to the Quinta de Tedo where the Bouchard’s have restored and modernized the estate from the 18th century that produces internationally praised Douro and Port Wines, as well as high quality olive oil. We have a guided visit to the estate, including the wine making facilities and ageing cellars, followed by Port Wine and olive oil tasting. Their facilities are available for lodging and meals. The vista with the confluence of the Tedo and Douro river is amazing.

View from Quinta de Tedo

We the head off to the Six Senses hotel set in the hills touched with the romance of 19th century architecture wedded to contemporary interiors reflecting the inimitable Six Senses style. The resort’s estate covers 19 acres with 57 guest accommodations, the Vale de Abraao restaurant with three different atmospheres: Open Kitchen, Terrace and Dining Room; a Wine Library featuring vintages from the valley and a stunning spa. We have a great dinner and local wine.

Six Senses hotel

Porto

Monday April 15 Porto. 

This morning we has a trip to Guimaraes the first capital of Portugal as a nation. We stop at a most interesting winery first, A 18th century crested manor house with an interesting history going back generations and told to us by the current owner. The house splendid with its complex wallpapers depicting imagery linked to the Portuguese Empire, European history and America. We have some lovely green wine with local cheese and sausage. This is a special place and currently also has rooms for rent.

Casa de Sezim

Good fortune isn’t with us as the rain begins as we get to Guimaraes. It’s known for well-preserved medieval buildings like the hilltop, 10th-century Castle, with its sweeping city views. The restored Dukes of Bragança Palace is amazing and between the palace and the castle is the Romanesque São Miguel do Castelo Church, built in the 13th century.

Guimarães

We head back to our ship as it’s our last night aboard, with the usual Captain’s dinner. We have a special experience as the ship takes an after dinner cruise up and down the Douro in the moonlight. We get to see the city lights and the bridges,very nice ending to a good time.

Porto at night

Entre de Rios to Porto

Sunday April 14 Entre de Rios to Porto. 

Porto

Today we head to the big city of Porto by sailing through the last lock which drops us down 43 feet and arrives at Vila Nova de Gaia across the river from Porto. It's where the ship moor and the port warehouses are for the port to age. We take a cable car to walk across the Dom Luis bridge designed by Eiffel, one of a number of bridges that span the Douro River in Porto.

Dom Luis bridge

Porto is the second-largest city in Portugal after Lisbon and has a population of 287,591 with the metropolitan area of Porto, it has a population of 2.3 million It the only Portuguese city besides Lisbon to be recognised as a global city. It’s history goes back to 300 bc. It was a roman city, occupied by the moors and then by christians. Port wine dates back to the 13th century. The city has a magical feel. We also visit the cathedral and the train station which has wonderful tiles displaying Porto history. We end the afternoon with a port tasting at Calem the oldest port cellar in Porto.

Calem

We finish our day with a wine paired dinner from West Wines, the last dry creek winery dinner for this trip. Tired from our day we skip a special tradition called the tuna show. A tuna is a group of students in traditional university dress who play traditional instruments and sing serenades. It originated in Spain and Portugal in the 13th century as a means of students to earn money or food. Nowadays students don't belong to a "tuna" for money nor food, but seeking to keep a tradition alive. Oh well next time.

Calda de Aregos to Entre os Rios

Saturday April 13 Calda de Aregos to Entre os Rios. 

This is our day of leisure which starts with a walk around what seems like the deserted town of Calda de Aregos. Since it’s a summer seasonal place the hotels are mostly closed. We do find the hospital where our guide told us the patients went hysterical and the doctor committed suicide causing the hospital to close. We didn’t see his ghost.

Passing through the lock

Later we pass through the highest of the lock on the Douro 115 ft. We have a demonstration of opening vintage port by scoring the bottleneck and then with cold water crack it off leaving the cork off the bottle. We are treated to a 2008 vintage port while cruising to Entre os Rios.

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In the evening we go to the for a Portuguese country dinner. There are records of this estate back to the 16th century. The first records of the sale of bottled wine date back to 1870. Since then, generations of the family have been devoted to the production of high quality wines, preserving this family legacy. Aside from its important architectural heritage, the Quinta da Aveleda estate is also appreciated for its parks and gardens, where rare species of trees flourish, some of which have been around for over two hundred years. Currently the it is the largest Vinho Verde exporting company, and remains a family-owned business in every way.

Garden at Quinta de Aveleda